As we move into 2025, I’m excited to share my reading goals for the year. Setting intentions for my reading journey keeps me motivated and helps me discover new perspectives, ideas, and stories. Here’s a look at what I’m planning, along with some ways I hope to make this year’s reading adventure meaningful and engaging.
Weekly Wrap-Ups: Accountability and Insights
One of my goals this year is to post a weekly wrap-up of my reading progress. These posts will serve as a personal accountability tool and a space to reflect on what I’ve learned or enjoyed each week. Sharing these wrap-ups will also create an opportunity for conversation with fellow readers—I’d love to hear your thoughts and recommendations!
Themed Reading Goals
To add structure and focus, I’ve divided my 2025 reading goals into a few themes:
- American Classics
- John Updike‘s Rabbit Novels: Over the years, I’ve dipped into Updike’s work, including Of the Farm, and now I’m ready to tackle his acclaimed Rabbit series, starting with Rabbit, Run. These novels explore the complexities of American life and identity.
- Kurt Vonnegut‘s Full-Length Novels: Having enjoyed A Man Without a Country, Breakfast of Champions, and the graphic novel adaptation of Slaughterhouse-Five, I’m eager to finish Vonnegut’s catalog. His wit and wisdom always leave a lasting impression, not to mention he was a Hoosier.
- Indigenous Voices
- Dr. Anton Treuer‘s Works: After reading Where Wolves Don’t Die, I decided to dive into the rest of Dr. Treuer’s work. I started The Language Warrior’s Manifesto in week 3 of this year. So far it has been incredibly insightful. By the end of the year, I plan to read all his remaining books.
- Faith and Philosophy
- The Bible: I’m committed to finishing the ESV and NASB versions this year. I have found a lot of value in comparing and contrasting translations, so my goal after this year is to read through a new version each year.
- Leo Tolstoy: I began the year with The Death of Ivan Ilych, a powerful start and a 5-star read. Tolstoy’s profound explorations of faith and morality inspire me to read more of his works, including Resurrection and perhaps even War and Peace.
- Poetry
- I have been writing quite a bit of poetry that may never see the light of day. I also enjoy reading poetry from time to time but haven’t made it a priority. What better way to improve my poetry than to read good poetry? That is my thought process that led to the decision to finish a book of poetry each week in 2025. Poetry has a way of distilling complex emotions and ideas into a few lines, and I’m looking forward to discovering voices both classic and contemporary. So far, some of my favorites are Guante, Rudy Francisco, and Joy Harjo. Joy Harjo’s An American Sunrise (from Week 2) was my first book of poetry this year and I am currently reading Guante’s A Love Song, A Death Rattle, A Battle Cry.
Stretch Goals
Every reading journey benefits from a challenge, and here are mine for 2025:
- War and Peace: A monumental work that has intimidated me for years, but this might be the year I finally conquer it. Then again, maybe not… My alternative is to work through as much of his body of work as possible this year and save War and Peace for the end, though likely in 2026.
- Other Genres: I’ll dip into genres outside my main focus, like sci-fi, fantasy, and memoirs, to broaden my horizons. I do enjoy all of those genres but I don’t spend a lot of time reading them.
Sharing the Journey
I plan to write mini-reviews of my 5-star reads as part of my weekly wrap-ups. These will include reflections on why they resonated with me, lessons learned, and favorite quotes. I’ll also use these posts to celebrate milestones, such as finishing all of Vonnegut’s novels or completing one of the Bible translations.
How You Can Join In
I’d love for you to join me on this journey as I tackle my 2025 reading goals. Let’s make this a year to remember, whether it’s reading along with an Updike or Vonnegut novel, diving into poetry, or tackling a Bible translation together. Feel free to share your own reading goals or recommendations in the comments—I’m always looking for new books to add to my list.
Final Thoughts
Reading is more than a pastime for me; it’s a way to grow, learn, and connect with the world. It shapes my perspectives, broadens my worldview, and helps me to build empathy. I’m looking forward to what 2025 will bring and the stories that will shape my year. Here’s to a year of exploration, one page at a time!
